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Last updated on August 1st, 2023 at 05:55 pm
Two weeks ago I posted about free resources to use for your science of reading based independent work, so I thought it only right to do a post on free resources for math independent work!
Most elementary classroom math time includes time for independent practice. And if it doesn’t, it should. This is usually done with the use of math centers/stations that students complete.
I know that some math curriculums come with independent math work for students in the form of games and/or worksheets. I say use what you can from the curriculum, but just like changing up your literacy centers/stations is a great idea, revitalizing your math centers is, too. Sprucing them up by changing out materials, using the materials in different ways, or putting out some more challenging activities will re-engage students with math. And that is, of course, absolutely what we want to happen.
At this point in the year it can be difficult to keep students on task and focused. Misbehavior starts to pop up in places where it didn’t before. This is normal. But we don’t want students to stop making gains now. There is still so much to accomplish before the year is over.
One way to combat this is to switch up your independent math activities. And since I know you are bogged down with other tasks, I have created this post as a way for you to quickly find free, low-prep, math activities for your classroom.
1. Free Counting Bears Worksheets & Printable Activities from Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies-You know you have’em somewhere. And if they’re not bears, you have some type of counters for students to use. This website has plenty of activities to utilize those bears that are gathering dust.
2. Colorful Addition Math Activity for Kids from Planning Playtime-Another activity that combines materials you probably already have: dominos and snap cubes/unifix cubes. You could, also, change this one up by using it for subtraction, too. Students can take the smaller number away from the bigger number and remove that amount of cubes from their stack.
3. Place Value Math Centers from a Kinderteacher life-This one has a list of centers with a link to purchase at the bottom, however you can get a sampler for free.
4. Free Place Value Worksheets from Games 4 Learning-This has three different worksheets for place value practice. Very easy to print and use.
5. Building Number Sense in First Grade from Miss Giraffe’s Class-This post has a huge list of ideas. Some that can be created for free by printing 120 charts or blank 120 charts. For other activities, there is a link to purchase them at the bottom.
6. Activities to Practice Counting Coins from Primarily Speaking-Most young students have difficulty with adding up coins. There is a game called “Race to a Dollar” with free directions included.
7. Fun Activities to Teach Telling Time from Around the Kampfire-There is a free game download at the end of this post for a telling time game, just add dice and playing pieces.
8. Number Facts Game: Uno Flip from childhood 101-All you need are UNO cards! You could play this game with dice or regular cards, too. There is a recording sheet included to print or you could just have your students record on paper to turn in (for accountability) or whiteboards.
9. Number Bonds from Boy Mama Teacher Mama-Use 1 die or 2 dice. Roll the dice and then record the number bond on the sheet.
10. Jumping Frogs Math Game from School Time Snippets-For this game you need a large 100s chart and toy frogs; the flinging or hopping ones would be best. For the chart, you could make one from a shower liner or use your school’s poster maker (if they have one). If you don’t have frogs, use any other animal toys you have and change the name of the game to match. There are many variations for this game included in the post, so there are ways to freshen it up to be left out all year!
I hope your students enjoy these activities and that they keep their math brains growing! Let me know which ones you try and how they work out for you in the comments below.
